Yes, it’s true – Texas Roadhouse is a chain. Why review it? Well, the first reason is because someone asked us to do it. The second reason is because of what happens inside. If you’re looking for a steakhouse, you might consider going there because it’s close by, easy to get to, has plenty of parking, and really. . . can they ruin every steak they serve?

Are there other steakhouses in Central New York? Certainly! But deciding whether TRH is worth going to – that’s what this review is all about.

Tucked away in the Towne Center plaza where – a million years ago – Fayetteville Mall stood is the 2nd location for that Syracuse-based Middle Eastern delight, King David’s. While this location has been open for a number of years, in the past couple several upmarket chain restaurants have opened within a stone’s throw. Carrabba’s, Red Robin and Bonefish all have their good points, as evidenced by the throngs of people filling their seats. But while we’ve been the last customers in the dining room at King David’s, we’ve never been there as the only customers.

My wife and I went on a recent Tuesday evening. We’re not there very often because it’s over an hour round trip form our place. But every once in a while, we make the trek. King David’s actually has two (two and a half?) dining areas. As you walk in there door, there are a couple small tables to your right. The prep and cooking area – I can’t really call it a kitchen – is to your right and open, so you can see what’s going on. Walk past that, down a narrow hallway, and you enter the “main” dining area, with about 4 tables and eight or so booths. There’s a doorway at the back, which leads into the enclosed mall. There’s another seating area here, with about 40 or so seats. They’ve got enough room for a lot of folks!

I’m going to be blunt, but truthful. Erawan is the best Thai restaurant in Syracuse. From its reasonable prices, charming menu, and friendly staff, I enjoy coming back to this awesome restaurant, located on Erie Boulevard.

Erawan is a medium sized restaurant, with pink tablecloths and napkins, and tasteful Thai decorations, much of which are elephants (which is fitting as Erawan is a mythological Elephant in Thailand). The restaurant is not quite a hole-in-the-wall, and lacks the tackiness of a chain restaurant. It is humble and prides itself on serving good food.

On Oswego Rd in Liverpool, across from Kost Tire and katty-corner from the entrance to Bayberry is a tiny little plaza. There’s a Starbucks here, a FroYo shop and a custom embroidery place. And in the middle of it all sits Ocean Sushi.

The plaza is cute, like cute ’cause it’s small. Ocean Sushi is small. In a way it reminds me of the tiny bars & shops you find along the streets in Japan. Okay, it’s a lot bigger on the inside than that, but by American standards it’s kinda small. There’s half a dozen seats at the immaculately neat and clean sushi bar, and a series of tables for parties of various sizes. I’ve been here as part of a romantic dinner for two, and as part of a raucous party of 8. The tables have a crackly, beat-up finish, but I think that’s on purpose. The rest of the place is as neat and clean as the bar area.

While we don’t always cover chain restaurants, this is a dining review site. That said, I was at the Outback Steakhouse off Rt 31 in Clay last night, and there were a number of changes.

Most importantly, Outback is now open every day of the week at 11 AM. That means you can now visit outback for lunch! I know that for years, many people complained that they had to wait for dinner for a Bloomin’ Onion. Hehe.

Also, not that it matters to most folks, they’ve done away with their green beans as a side item. My waiter was equally as perplexed as I was. He told me that these were one of the most popular sides.

As you may know, the large Outback on Erie Blvd East closed down a month or so ago. The Clay location is the only one near Syracuse at this time. The closest others are in Vestal and Henrietta.

On top of University Hill, down a dark alley, wedged next to a bar, and down an unassuming flight of stairs, is appeThaizing. Although the location is not the easiest to get too, with limited parking and the threat of having to fight through mobs of college students to get there, appeThaizing does deliver tasty Thai food.

I have been to the restaurant on a handful of occasions, and am never disappointed, although some dishes overwhelmingly trump other ones. On my most recent visit, a friend and I decided to eat out on a Monday after our classes. We went there for dinner, around 6’oclock, walking down the alley, and then down the stairs that lead down to the restaurant. I am always surprised by how the restaurant fills up despite its humble sign outside, and rather peculiar location.

So I cheated on my boys. Chuckleberries is a self-serve yogurt shop on Rt 57 (Oswego Road) across the road from Bayberry Plaza in Liverpool. It’s pretty popular in the summer and fall with sports teams in the area, especially ones with girls on them apparently. Which is probably why my sons like going there, either with one of their teams or alone. Ruprecht will be driving soon, and the boys will probably take the van out there a few evenings this fall.

Anydoodle, I was running a few errands with my girlfriend Sylvia the other day when we decided to cheat and have dessert before lunch. We dropped in a few minutes past noon and the place was empty, except for a gentleman I’m going to assume was the manager. Most of the time I see teenage girls there in the evening.

A couple of our friends wanted to meet up for an early dinner one Sunday, so the hubby and I met them at China Road in Mattydale. I’m not sure just how long this restaurant has been open, but a girlfriend took me there for lunch about 20 years ago. I don’t go every week, but I’m there several times a year.

China Road is a clean, neat, hole-in-the-wall. If you’ve ever been to New York City’s China Town, and eaten at one of the better places on Mott Street, then you’ll really enjoy eating here. Walk in and you’re greeted by Chef Simon or his wife. The front room is tiny – eight tables, including one larger family style table, and the front one where they stage take-out orders. On especially busy nights, they open the back dining room, which is larger and seats maybe twice as many as the front room.

I stopped in at Kawa Japanese today. It’s in the Glenn Crossing shopping plaza on Oswego Road, across from the dead Kirby’s, in Liverpool. It was just after 1 PM and I had my boys with me. When we walked in, there were several booths already taken, and the gentleman behind the cash register asked us to seat ourselves at an empty booth.

It took several minutes for him to wait on us, but I can understand that as he was busy ringing out a large table of guests. It seemed like they’d requested separate checks or something. He dropped off menus, then ran off to ring out another customer. By the time he returned to take our order, there was only one other couple left.

I keep getting dragged back to the mall. This time it was to see a movie with two of my friends, and following the show we decided to grab a meal at Gordon Biersch Brewery for an early dinner on a rainy Friday afternoon. I had heard that the restaurant brewed its own beer and had some decent food, so I was interested in going.

After the movie, which left us in good spirits with a lot to talk about, we headed to the new wing of the mall to find dinner. Because of the deep affinity for alcohol we share, we decided on Gordon Biersch. We luckily got into the restaurant without having to wait in a line, and the hostess speedily seated us. The restaurant looked pretty full, with mall people, mostly guys with baseball caps and ladies in tracksuits, chattering happily around us. My group immediately flipped to the beer menu, which was a pretty good selection. We were feeling adventurous, as well as indecisive, so we got a beer flight each. The waiter seemed surprised, and then curtly asked us for our IDs. After he left, we raised our eyebrows at each other.

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